A LEDBURY funeral director teamed up with a group of bikers to skydive from 13,500 feet to raise funds for a Herefordshire hospice.

The Hospice Angels fundraising group was founded by Mike Pullin in 2003. It has since raised more than £600,000 for St Michael’s Hospice, which is based at Bartestree, off the Hereford Road. 

Justin Hydes of Dawe Brothers Funeral Directors on Bye Street said: “After learning about the incredible amount of funds the Hospice Angels have raised over the years, I wanted to get involved as much as I could. This therefore marks my second skydive with the Flying Angels.”

As we reported in 2019, Justin helped raise more than £2,500 for the hospice when he, Mike and the rest of the Flying Angels took a leap of faith from the skies over Wiltshire.

The following year, Justin’s mother, Brenda, was cared for at home by St Michael’s before she passed away. “I, my father and my sister will always be grateful for all of the support St Michael’s have provided and continue to provide,” said Justin. “This next skydive was therefore in memory of mum.”

The group raised more than £18,870 with this year’s skydive, with Justin also raising £300 for Dream Your Future, which provides counselling and mental health support for parents.

Justin said that during his recent jump — his highest to date — “fear never came into the equation”. 

“The hardest part was the two-hour drive to Netheravon Airfield on Salisbury Plain. The actual skydive is very liberating and peaceful, even during the 45 seconds of free-falling from such an incredible height.”

Mike described how he became friends with Justin after moving to Ledbury in 2019. “Since then, Dawe Brothers has been kind enough to offer their premises as a place for us to set up table sales and raise money for St Michael’s,” he said.

“Fundraising with Justin has been a real eye-opener. Being in the funeral profession, he sees first-hand the comfort that St Michael’s brings to families and their loved ones, and he’s always coming up with ideas to help the Hospice Angels raise more money.”

The duo are now hatching plans for a sponsored abseil, while also preparing for another skydive next year.